Saturday, April 19, 2008
While we get married...
While we get married and go away on our Honeymoon we leave the house to have the carpentry finished. I am sure some friends and family will have a tour around (like the ones here checking out the new vanity) but for now, it still looks fairly un-finished!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Doors and Trim
Thursday April 17th, 2008
Went over to check out the finish carpentry progress...and we have some doors!
Main Floor Powder Room
Upstairs Hall
His and Hers Master Closets
Went over to check out the finish carpentry progress...and we have some doors!
Main Floor Powder Room
Upstairs Hall
His and Hers Master Closets
Monday, April 14, 2008
Water's On...then off...and the Doors are Delivered
Monday April 14, 2008
We remembered to go to the bath supply store to pick up the parts we needed...but forgot to bring the ones that we had already!
Lianne went over in the morning to give these to Slava and then about 3 hours later she also stopped by just to pick up the mail. Turns out it was a good thing because the basement shower is leaking (needs a new cartridge) and the fancy cover plate in the master doesn't fit and needs to be exchanged.
So the water went on, and no pipes were harmed in the making of this house, but the water went off again to not waste.
I dutifully called the manufacturer of the faucet who told me the part number and to just go over to Home Depot (where we bought it) to get a 'new cartridge'. Sometimes I wonder what the Home Depot people think when I come in asking for parts...today the man in the plumbing quizzed me up and down and then gave me two different cartridges 'just in case'. Perhaps they don't expect I know what I am talking about ;).
Anyway, also pleasantly surprised to see the doors & trim delivered..then I remembered the finish carpenter was starting soon!
We remembered to go to the bath supply store to pick up the parts we needed...but forgot to bring the ones that we had already!
Lianne went over in the morning to give these to Slava and then about 3 hours later she also stopped by just to pick up the mail. Turns out it was a good thing because the basement shower is leaking (needs a new cartridge) and the fancy cover plate in the master doesn't fit and needs to be exchanged.
So the water went on, and no pipes were harmed in the making of this house, but the water went off again to not waste.
I dutifully called the manufacturer of the faucet who told me the part number and to just go over to Home Depot (where we bought it) to get a 'new cartridge'. Sometimes I wonder what the Home Depot people think when I come in asking for parts...today the man in the plumbing quizzed me up and down and then gave me two different cartridges 'just in case'. Perhaps they don't expect I know what I am talking about ;).
Anyway, also pleasantly surprised to see the doors & trim delivered..then I remembered the finish carpenter was starting soon!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Hardwood completed
April 11, 2008
Hardwood floor ran out on Wednesday - a real bummer as it was only an hour away from being completed!
It was finished up on Thursday and we think it looks great...next on the list is to pick the stain (found one at a friend house that I like!) and also Slava the plumber is coming on Monday to let water back into the pipes. The all important 'did anyone hit a pipe during construction' test. This means a run out to the bath supply store to pick up the rest of the shower faucet parts & trim kits.
Here is the master bedroom floor
..and the upstairs hallway looking out of the master
Back to Front / Front to Back
Back to Front / Front to Back
Hardwood floor ran out on Wednesday - a real bummer as it was only an hour away from being completed!
It was finished up on Thursday and we think it looks great...next on the list is to pick the stain (found one at a friend house that I like!) and also Slava the plumber is coming on Monday to let water back into the pipes. The all important 'did anyone hit a pipe during construction' test. This means a run out to the bath supply store to pick up the rest of the shower faucet parts & trim kits.
Here is the master bedroom floor
down to the front bedroom and bathroom
Here are the shots of the main floor - before, during and after
Here are the shots of the main floor - before, during and after
Back to Front / Front to Back
Back to Front / Front to Back
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Coming to a YouTube near you
April 9th, 2008
Jesse and Nina came by for a visit. Jesse video taped it and made jokes about it coming to a YouTube near you. Lord Help Us!
I made them stand "in the kitchen" so we'll take another shot when there actually is a kitchen!
Jesse and Nina came by for a visit. Jesse video taped it and made jokes about it coming to a YouTube near you. Lord Help Us!
I made them stand "in the kitchen" so we'll take another shot when there actually is a kitchen!
Monday, April 7, 2008
HARDWOOD!
April 07, 2008
Marat called about 9am saying the hardwood (oak) is being delivered and could Andreas come by with a payment. In this case, yes, since it's materials and they are on site already.
Later that day, he called back to say that the guys were starting to lay the hardwood if we wanted to see. Oh, and by the way it will change direction in the front bedroom and in the master. Apparently, it has to be laid across the joists for warranty.
As long as the main floor runs front to back, and it all looks pretty, I'm not bothered by the directional change!
Up close shot of the oak ("select or better" grade)
Upstairs Hall ready to be laid
...we left & stopped in an hour and a half later and the hall was almost completed!
Marat called about 9am saying the hardwood (oak) is being delivered and could Andreas come by with a payment. In this case, yes, since it's materials and they are on site already.
Later that day, he called back to say that the guys were starting to lay the hardwood if we wanted to see. Oh, and by the way it will change direction in the front bedroom and in the master. Apparently, it has to be laid across the joists for warranty.
As long as the main floor runs front to back, and it all looks pretty, I'm not bothered by the directional change!
Up close shot of the oak ("select or better" grade)
Upstairs Hall ready to be laid
...we left & stopped in an hour and a half later and the hall was almost completed!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Four months ago it looked a little different!
April 5th, 2008
Mum and John, on their way back from wintering in Texas, stopped in for the weekend. Of COURSE I took them on a tour! They were astonished at the changes and even John had really only seen the house on the drawings.
I see the house every other day so it's very familiar to me. It was fun to go around and show them the 'Estate'.
Pics to follow because they are on Mum's camera. :)
April 14th - Pics now here!
Mum and John, on their way back from wintering in Texas, stopped in for the weekend. Of COURSE I took them on a tour! They were astonished at the changes and even John had really only seen the house on the drawings.
I see the house every other day so it's very familiar to me. It was fun to go around and show them the 'Estate'.
Pics to follow because they are on Mum's camera. :)
April 14th - Pics now here!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Tiles Complete
Thursday April 3, 2008
Leandro, man of tiles, completed (almost) everything this week. And, we were (almost) entirely happy with his work.
Main (Guest) Bathroom shower was the last to be done. The underside of the niches (shelves) had to wait until the very end. It was a bit tricky but in the end it turned out well.
except that in these pictures it looks pink. it's not pink
Leandro, man of tiles, completed (almost) everything this week. And, we were (almost) entirely happy with his work.
Main (Guest) Bathroom shower was the last to be done. The underside of the niches (shelves) had to wait until the very end. It was a bit tricky but in the end it turned out well.
except that in these pictures it looks pink. it's not pink
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Epic Day at IKEA
Sunday March 30th, 2008
Never Ever go to IKEA on the last day of a sale!
There was a 'for every $1000 you get $100 gift card' kitchen sale on and we, like most of the population of the GTA we think, decided to take advantage before the sale ended.
The long long day started like this:
9:50am: Arrive IKEA before it opens. Go for the $1 breakfast.
10:15am: Second cup of coffee despite Andreas getting ancy
10:25am: Arrive in the kitchen area, put self on list about 8 names down. Hmm, not so bad, thinks self.
10:26am: find a computer & pull up kitchen drawing to while away the time
10:40am: Andreas checks the list only to be told that our name is on the 'wrong list'.
10:41am: Put name on 'correct list'..about 40 names down. Get told it will be a couple of hours.
No kidding. I then spent 3 hours within 10 feet of 'THE LIST'. Yes, THREE HOURS waiting, using the computer, designing a completely ficticious kitchen to pass the time, sending Andreas out to the tile store and Tim Horton's, getting more and more impatient...I was given a pager, which didn't work.
I found this out after I checked the list at 1:15pm and saw my name with an N/A beside it. I freaked. The lady explained that she paged me 7 times. Well, I said, why didn't you also call my name like every other person...since I was standing right there, I would have heard it. Woman says oh well after seven pages I figured you were not here and wouldn't hear me (ok maybe I could see that reasoning.) I said, well I have been standing there and the only reason I came over to check the list is because I am at the top of the list and you are calling the names of people that are AFTER ME. She's says well we paged you and I said that clearly is not working so you will have some really pissed off people. She grabs someone else and they test the pager.
IT DIDN'T WORK.
Anyway, lucky for her she stopped whatever else she had been doing to assist me. She was actually wonderful and I think her name was Sylvia.
1:25pm: Order kitchen
2:45pm: Lunch at, where else but, IKEA
So the kitchen is ordered out of the Montreal warehouse - we didn't want it right away so that's where it comes from if you can wait three weeks. Ironically, the three largest pieces (side panels for the fridge, etc.) were not in stock in Montreal. However, they were in stock in Toronto. We would have to order them later, however we could not pay for them now because IKEA does not warehouse anything for anybody, ever.
Since the three panels bumped us over another $1000 to get another $100 gift card, Andreas just figures, no problem we'll strap them to the roof.
3:30pm - 3:50pm : standing in line to pay & to pick up
3:50pm - 4:07pm : tying the panels down
All the way home at no more than 60kms as it was a windy day to boot!
Total time at IKEA? 6 hours; 17 mins
Never Ever go to IKEA on the last day of a sale!
There was a 'for every $1000 you get $100 gift card' kitchen sale on and we, like most of the population of the GTA we think, decided to take advantage before the sale ended.
The long long day started like this:
9:50am: Arrive IKEA before it opens. Go for the $1 breakfast.
10:15am: Second cup of coffee despite Andreas getting ancy
10:25am: Arrive in the kitchen area, put self on list about 8 names down. Hmm, not so bad, thinks self.
10:26am: find a computer & pull up kitchen drawing to while away the time
10:40am: Andreas checks the list only to be told that our name is on the 'wrong list'.
10:41am: Put name on 'correct list'..about 40 names down. Get told it will be a couple of hours.
No kidding. I then spent 3 hours within 10 feet of 'THE LIST'. Yes, THREE HOURS waiting, using the computer, designing a completely ficticious kitchen to pass the time, sending Andreas out to the tile store and Tim Horton's, getting more and more impatient...I was given a pager, which didn't work.
I found this out after I checked the list at 1:15pm and saw my name with an N/A beside it. I freaked. The lady explained that she paged me 7 times. Well, I said, why didn't you also call my name like every other person...since I was standing right there, I would have heard it. Woman says oh well after seven pages I figured you were not here and wouldn't hear me (ok maybe I could see that reasoning.) I said, well I have been standing there and the only reason I came over to check the list is because I am at the top of the list and you are calling the names of people that are AFTER ME. She's says well we paged you and I said that clearly is not working so you will have some really pissed off people. She grabs someone else and they test the pager.
IT DIDN'T WORK.
Anyway, lucky for her she stopped whatever else she had been doing to assist me. She was actually wonderful and I think her name was Sylvia.
1:25pm: Order kitchen
2:45pm: Lunch at, where else but, IKEA
So the kitchen is ordered out of the Montreal warehouse - we didn't want it right away so that's where it comes from if you can wait three weeks. Ironically, the three largest pieces (side panels for the fridge, etc.) were not in stock in Montreal. However, they were in stock in Toronto. We would have to order them later, however we could not pay for them now because IKEA does not warehouse anything for anybody, ever.
Since the three panels bumped us over another $1000 to get another $100 gift card, Andreas just figures, no problem we'll strap them to the roof.
3:30pm - 3:50pm : standing in line to pay & to pick up
3:50pm - 4:07pm : tying the panels down
All the way home at no more than 60kms as it was a windy day to boot!
Total time at IKEA? 6 hours; 17 mins
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